Ground Corn for Cat Litter Odor

by Elton Dunn

Your cat may be pee-shy around strongly scented commercial litter.

Ground corn offers the same clumping and odor-absorbing properties you enjoy in commercial cat litter -- but without the cloying fragrances designed to mask cat pee. While there are many different types of ground corn cat litter to choose from, all perform in much the same way.

Cat Litter Smell

Many commercial cat litters contain fragrances meant to mask the ammonia-like smell of cat urine. These fragrances may instead irritate you. If you use a commercial cat litter, such as a clay litter, both the litter odor and its substance can cause your allergies to flare up. Switching to a corn-based litter can soothe your symptoms and benefit your cat. Cats tend to dislike strong smells, so a fragrant commercial litter may be cramping her need to pee.

Benefits of Corn Litter

Not only do natural litters, such as corn, lack the odor that may be irritating you and kitty, they do not create dust. In addition, the corn itself actually absorbs the ammonia from cat pee and traps it. This minimizes litter box scent naturally. As the corn litter absorbs pee, it clumps for easy cleanup. Depending on where you live, you may be able to flush this litter down your toilet.

Switching

Ease your cat into the transition from a commercial to natural corn litter. Add some of the corn litter to the commercial litter to allow your kitty to get used to the new litter's feel. Add more corn and less commercial litter gradually before switching to all corn. If you have allergies, bathe or wipe your kitty when the switch is complete to remove irritating dust and fragrance from her fur.

Corn Allergies

While corn litter has many benefits, it may not be right for every kitty. Some cats are allergic to corn in their diets. If your cat has a corn allergy, you're probably feeding her special food that's corn-free. In this case, a corn litter might irritate her system. Try other natural litters made from newspaper or pine instead of corn.

About the Author

A successful website writer since 1998, Elton Dunn has demonstrated experience with technology, information retrieval, usability and user experience, social media, cloud computing, and small business needs. Dunn holds a degree from UCSF and formerly worked as professional chef. Dunn has ghostwritten thousands of blog posts, newsletter articles, website copy, press releases and product descriptions. He specializes in developing informational articles on topics including food, nutrition, fitness, health and pets.